Knowledge gaps

An extensive review of the literature has identified a number of gaps in our knowledge, both on the potential impacts of climate change on terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity, and the potential for natural adaptation in species and ecosystems.

What we don’t know – Species

The thermal and physiological tolerances, and natural resilience and adaptive capacity, of most species

How changes to the timing of life history processes (such as breeding and migration) will affect survival, reproduction, and species-interactions

How to ameliorate the cascading effects of mismatches between interacting species (predators and prey, flowers and their pollinators, etc).

Where taxa will retreat to (refugia) and how these areas can be best managed

The ability of species to resist and/or recover from extreme events

What we don’t know – Ecosystems

How changes in palatability of grass and leaves (associated with changing CO2) will affect native and non-native herbivores

How the interactions among weeds, grazing and land use change and potential for increased vulnerability to invasive plants will change

How climate and enhanced CO2 will interact to affect fire regimes, and how fire regimes will interact with invasive species

How changes in the cloud layer will influence communities in high elevation regions

Short and long-term impacts of extreme events such as heat waves, storm surges and cyclones